Old Morning's Dawn - first thoughts

From what I collect - and deducing from the discrepancies between the ripped version and what the trailer sounds like - we've yet to hear the release as it actually is. In the meantime, you might want to use the trailer to calibrate your equalizers.

First impressions were rather underwhelming. Less dynamic phrasing, more of a stoic approach akin to the last Lord Wind. Dangerously Van Haleney riffs reminiscent of LMHSYF and Stronghold at times. There are lots of aesthetic choices here which seem like a step back from what was done on Oath Bound, ie. merging the atmospheric thickness of their Minas Morgul/Dol Guldur era with some of the more crowd pleasing elements of their later works in a way which was actually more conducive to telling a story. (I've always felt that it was the only album on which they actually managed to uphold a narrative from point A to Z).

Then again, after a third run some of the less immediately catchy tracks seem much more solid, which reminds me of how the latest DCD album actually started making sense as a whole after some time.

First impression after listening to it three times on the train is that it feels like a summation of their career this far. There's a bit of a throwback to the Minas Morgul/Dol Guldur era in the synth-work (both in its aesthetic qualities and how the melodies are written), but the guitar style is definitely in line with the Oathbound arpeggio-based style, albeit with "stronger" melodies. I don't mean stronger like better, but just that the melodies are a bit more assertive. Some of the guitar melodies have an overtly bombastic quality reminiscent of the keys on Stronghold and LMHSYF, but they still draw heavily from the contemplative drone of Oathbound. Not really sure where the Van Halen comparison comes from. As of this album, Summoning is still probably the least heavy metal-ish black metal band out there.

It's too bad about the 128kbps leak thing though, because I can definitely hear hints of intricate layering under the wash of digital distortion. Maybe that's why some of the guitar playing seems more "forward" than on the previous album: we just can't hear the other part of the composition at this low bitrate. So far, this seems to be another great Summoning album.

My first thoughts were mostly of a superficial reactionary nature, similar to those in the comments to the Brett Stevens post i.e. heard it before, run of the mill, cheesy theatrical instrumentation, lacklustre production. But upon further immersion I've found this to be a truly enduring album and certainly one that grows on you with repeated hearings.

My only gripe would be the percussion which is a step back to that pitter-patter tropical sounding stuff rather than a staunch fur-clad warrior taking a run-up to smash the snare with every inch of manliness he can muster (Oathbound, Dol Guldur style). But aesthetic complaints are surely of secondary importance. After all, Summoning's strong point has always been melodic development through ambience, and this album achieves that and in fact elevates it in many ways from anything previously released.

The big success lies in a stronger melodic development and a tighter interweaving of multiple themes/motifs within each song which is an effective solution against the often formulaic tendencies of previous works. I saw hints of this on Oathbound, but they've really consolidated that approach on this one.

Will definitely be getting a copy of this and no doubt find something in it for years to come.

I really like it. The song Old Morning's Dawn is especially fantastic and sure to rally the troops. Summoning are masters of expressing the inexpressible. In the cosmic battle of Good vs. Evil, Summoning seem to have taken up for the side of Good. When I was a teenager I never would have thought something like this could be considered metal.